The Happy Hollisters were a family of amateur sleuths in a book series I read as a kid. Today I’m talking about them over at SleuthSayers. At first, I wanted to just talk about the Hollisters, but the conversation turned into something deeper, touching on the recent trend toward revising old books by famous authors. I don’t have all the answers, but I’m hoping that the post generates some interesting discussion in the comments. I hope you’ll stop by. The post is entitled:
Yikes! and Crickets! The Happy Hollisters are back!
Here’s a sample of the post:
That brings up a host of questions I don’t feel qualified to answer, or even grapple with. But’ll throw them all at you, because some of you have been at this game longer than I have, and probably can offer some coherent responses.
If it was okay to revise the old Hardy Boys and Nancy Drews, why isn’t it okay to revise Fleming, Dahl, LeGuin, or Christie?
Is it because the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew aren’t considered great literature?
Because they were written by an ever-revolving team of house writers?
Because they were mystery novels for kids?
What’s really the issue? Are we okay protecting kids from potentially troubling content, but comfortable allowing adult readers to make up their own minds about the content they consume?
How does this connect with banning books?
Those old Hollister books are now available in ebook, hardcover, paperback, and audiobook. Judging from the reviews, modern readers really seem to enjoy them. You can check out the series here (affiliate link):